The phrase is the title of an opinion piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal by federal circuit judge Richard A. Posner. One comes across the expression frequently these days, and I think it is worth examining the meaning of it a little closer. Why is "capitalism in crisis?"
What is meant by the statement? The word capitalism describes a system of economic organization, in which capital is owned and controlled by private individuals and organizations in an environment of economic competition. We also refer to this system as 'private enterprise,' or 'free enterprise' or 'free market.' It is distinct from a communist economic system, where government both owns and controls the capital of a country, or a fascist system, where capital is owned by private individuals but is largely controlled by the state, or a socialist system, where a portion of the capital may be owned by the government and a sizable portion of the capital is controlled by the state. In any case, the term capitalism describes a particular economic system.
Is this system of economic organization in crisis? To the extent that much private capital in America today (GM, AIG, many large US banks, etc.) is controlled by the federal government, one can justifiably say that the system of capitalism in the US is in crisis.
Of course, what Judge Posner and everyone else mean when they say that capitalism is in crisis is, in fact, that the economy is in crisis. This is something quite different. The rhetorical confusion has a rather unfortunate consequence: instead of focusing on fixing the economy, the gut-level reaction is to change the system. This is extremely unfortunate, since capitalism is the only economic system that has a consistent long-term record of increasing people's standard of living.
Showing posts with label rhetoric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rhetoric. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Naomi Klein: A rhetorical criticism--ethos, pathos, but no logos
Among my work duties is coaching the university's speech & debate team. One type of presentation my students develop is rhetorical criticism. It identifies the pattern, a so-called communication model, used by a speaker or a writer of a message; it lists the steps that the communicator takes: from getting an audiences attention to 'closing the sale' in conveying a persuasive message. The analysis culminates with a judgment about the effectiveness the communication.
I recently watched author Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism) in several discussions on the current economic crisis. She seems to be one of the preeminent critics of free-market ideas (and of Milton Friedman) and a proponent of expanded government intervention. Listening to her I noticed a pattern in the way she communicates her radical socialist ideas to her audience. She employs a five-step model:
1. Legitimate criticism of recent policy failures
2. Stirring an emotional response from the audience
3. Proposing a radical socialist policy idea to the impassioned audience
4. Stating a positive (by anyone's standard) desired outcome
Capitalizing on humans' natural tendency to seek causal relationships, her model effectively implies that it is her radical socialist policy that would lead to the desired positive outcome.
5. Repeating steps 1 through 4 in the same order.
As a communicator, she seems very effective at winning audiences to her side using her communication model. She earns legitimacy (in rhetoric we called that ethos) by starting off as a journalist and making good, critical observations of policy failures. Then she uses emotions (pathos) to suggest that her radical socialist policy ideas would lead to better outcomes than the failed recent policies. What is lacking is the third element of rhetoric--logos--logic.
Two out of three "ain't bad" in swaying a friendly audience's opinion. But the lack of logic means that Ms. Klein's position, while helping her sell books (nothing wrong with that), doesn't make a meaningful contribution to the public debate on future policies. She's merely "preaching to her choir" as most free market proponents do to their friendly audiences.
Why can't we have a serious public discussion and a reasoned debate about how to deal with our crises and challenges?
I recently watched author Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism) in several discussions on the current economic crisis. She seems to be one of the preeminent critics of free-market ideas (and of Milton Friedman) and a proponent of expanded government intervention. Listening to her I noticed a pattern in the way she communicates her radical socialist ideas to her audience. She employs a five-step model:
1. Legitimate criticism of recent policy failures
2. Stirring an emotional response from the audience
3. Proposing a radical socialist policy idea to the impassioned audience
4. Stating a positive (by anyone's standard) desired outcome
Capitalizing on humans' natural tendency to seek causal relationships, her model effectively implies that it is her radical socialist policy that would lead to the desired positive outcome.
5. Repeating steps 1 through 4 in the same order.
As a communicator, she seems very effective at winning audiences to her side using her communication model. She earns legitimacy (in rhetoric we called that ethos) by starting off as a journalist and making good, critical observations of policy failures. Then she uses emotions (pathos) to suggest that her radical socialist policy ideas would lead to better outcomes than the failed recent policies. What is lacking is the third element of rhetoric--logos--logic.
Two out of three "ain't bad" in swaying a friendly audience's opinion. But the lack of logic means that Ms. Klein's position, while helping her sell books (nothing wrong with that), doesn't make a meaningful contribution to the public debate on future policies. She's merely "preaching to her choir" as most free market proponents do to their friendly audiences.
Why can't we have a serious public discussion and a reasoned debate about how to deal with our crises and challenges?
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